[Effects of low salt diet on gene expression in dog's heart].

Objective: To investigate the effect of low-salt diet on gene expression of canine cardiac tissue.

Methods: Microarray data (GSE17149) of heart tissue from dogs fed with low-salt diet was obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). The data were analyzed by Qlucore Omics Explorer 3.1, STRING 10.0, Genclip 2.0 and GCBI. The protein-protein interactions (PPI) of the differentially expressed genes in low-salt and control groups were conducted to screen the key node genes between the two groups.

Results: Compared with the control group, the gene expression profile of the dog heart tissue was changed in the low-salt diet group, and 1343 (3.12%) differentially expressed genes were found in 43 035 genes. The differentially expressed gene protein interaction analysis revealed a most obvious protein (NFKBIA) as the core, which might be related to inhibiting the differentiation of macrophage-derived foam cell and promoting cholesterol discharge and decomposition.

Conclusions: Gene expression of heart tissue in dogs fed with low-salt diet is significantly changed and low-salt diet may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by up-regulating the expression of NFKBIA.